Peanut Butter Pumpkin Cookies....trust me on this one.

I know, I know.  Peanut butter and PUMPKIN???  It's not a combination I would have thought of until recently...and y'all, I give a lot of thought to pumpkin flavored EVERYTHING.

You might have seen Jif Whips Peanut Butters in the store.  (My grocery store doesn't carry them, but Target does.)  They have a Pumpkin Pie Spice flavor and, oh man, it is good!  I've spread it on crackers, apples, and eaten it with a spoon.
(By the way, this post is NOT sponsored by Jif Whips, or, well, anyone except yours truly and my obsession all things pumpkin.)



Grab yourself two containers...one for snacking and one for baking these cookies.


One thing I love about these cookies is that they're simple.  No frosting, no sprinkles, no drizzle...just cookie.  They come together quickly and are the perfect peanut butter cookie for fall.

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Cookies

1 (15 oz.) container Jif Whips Pumpkin Pie Spice flavor
1 cup sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten with a fork
1/3 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice

Preheat oven to 350.  Line cookie sheets with parchment.

Stir together the Jif Whips, sugar, egg, and pumpkin until well mixed.  Stir in the flour, baking soda, and spices until just combined.


Use a 2-tablespoon scoop to dollop the batter, 2" apart, onto the prepared sheets.  Dip the bottom of a juice glass into a bit of flour, then press the cookies into thick circles.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until done.  Cool on the sheet for 1 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.


Peanut Butter Pumpkin Cookies?  Try them; you just might like them!

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Spooky S'mores Bars

Boo!

Don't be scared!  These are only *the cutest* little s'mores bars...no campfire required!

These Spooky S'mores Bars have a thick graham cracker cookie base, a layer of milk chocolate, and are topped with ghost-shaped Peeps marshmallows. 

The cookie layer is simple, and so good...graham cracker crumbs, oats, butter, etc.

After that bakes, the cookie is topped with a layer of Hershey bars...yum!  Then, on go the Peeps.

{Put them on upside-down since their faces will melt off under the broiler...how is that for creepy?} ;)


Don't worry...once the marshmallows cool, you can draw the faces on with a food coloring pen.



I'm sharing the recipe over at Imperial Sugar.


While you're at it, check out Imperial Sugar's Scary Scramble Recipe Contest...two $50 winners every day!


Boo, y'all.

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Hey! You Got Peanut Butter in my Chocolate (Chips).

Hopefully, you're old enough to remember that commercial.  Remember the person walking down the street eating peanut butter from a jar?  I mean, Nutella I get, but peanut butter?  Anyway...the commercial is still burned in my brain.


You know when you see something at the grocery store and you don't think twice, you just buy it.  Well, when I saw these peanut butter-filled chocolate chips, that was exactly the case. (Note the caramel-filled chocolate chips behind them.)


What do they taste like?  Tiny peanut butter cups.  In other words, they're dangerous.  Baked into soft, puffy peanut butter cookies, they are irresistible.

I'm thinking you need to go pick up a bag right now.  Yes, you in your yoga pants.  Go.  You, in your pjs.  Well, change out of your pjs, then go.

 

Soft Peanut Butter Cookies with Peanut Butter-Filled Chocolate Chips

{makes 24-ish...honestly, we ate them so quickly, I forgot how many}

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 & 1/4 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup butter, cut into chunks
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 TBSP corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 & 3/4 cups peanut butter (I use Jif Natural)
1 (9-oz) package Nestle Delightfulls peanut butter-filled chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, salt.  Set aside.

In a bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, both sugars, and corn syrup for a few minutes until light and fluffy.  Add in the eggs and vanilla; mix until well combined.  Beat in the peanut butter.

Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

Use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop to dollop the dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets.  Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until the cookies are done.  Remove to wire cooling racks to cool completely.


What are you waiting for?  Are you heading to the grocery store to get those chips?!?

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Seriously Delish Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

This post is making me so happy...and I'm only on the first sentence. ;)  Today, we're talking about a fantastic new cookbook, we're talking about chocolate chip cookies...and well, we might even see a fluffy kitty.  See?  So much to be happy about.

Seriously Delish: 150 Recipes for People Who Totally Love Food is the first cookbook (I predict of many) from Jessica Merchant of How Sweet Eats.  I've been a fan of Jessica's for...forever.  I love her recipes, many from her blog have become staples in our house.  I love her fun style of writing.  I love that Jessica LOVES FOOD.


I've already made 4 recipes from her book...we have loved each of them.  Last week, kiddo had a friend over for dinner and I made the Green Chili Turkey & White Bean Enchiladas. I think we demolished the entire pan in 5 minutes.  So good.
We'll be talking about those Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies more in a minute.

Here's a little peek inside:

When I read it, I really felt like Jessica was hanging out with me in my kitchen.  Such an engaging and personable read...I love that in a cookbook.


The photography is beautiful.  Not only did Jessica develop the recipes, she did her own photography.  Multi-talented, that one.

Jessica has this knack for creating recipes that are unique and modern and fresh, but still keeping them simple enough to make every day.  Next on my list:  Amaretto-Butternut Squash Soup with Cinnamon Toast Croutons (!!!), Parmesan-Pistachio Kale Chips, and the Fleur de Sel Caramel Bourbon Brownie Milkshakes (oh. MY. gosh.).


Spike was very interested in the Buffalo Chicken Pizza.


He REALLY likes this book. 


The cookies.  In my option, there is nothing better than a chocolate chip cookie.  Nothing.  Well, maybe the dough before it's baked, but basically nothing.  A cookie that is made with whole wheat and oat flour, though?  That might even be better than the original.

I felt so good about eating all that whole wheat that I ate a few extras purely for the health benefits.
You say multi-vitamin, I say cookie.  Tomato, to-mah-to.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

{reprinted with permission from Seriously Delish}

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup white whole wheat flour
1/3 cup oat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 TBSP (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup loosely packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup dark chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli Bittersweet)

Preheat oven to 350.  In a bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter on medium until smooth and creamy.  Add both sugars and beat on high speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.  Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and beat until combined, another 2 to 3 minutes.  Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed.

With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients.  Mix until just combined.  Use a large spoon to stir in the chocolate chips.

Scoop out about 2 tablespoons of the dough (I used a cookie scoop) and roll it into a ball.  Place the dough balls on nonstick baking sheets 2 inches apart.  Bake until cookies are set around the edges and slightly golden, 10-12 minutes.  Allow the cookies to cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then remove them with a spatula and place on a cooling rack.


Yeah, they ARE delish!


So, Seriously Delish?  You want it.  Oh!  And, check to see if Jessica is coming to your town on her book tour.  I went to the one in Houston, and not only is Jessica a doll, but the entire crowd was just so delightful.  I feel sure it's the same in every city...Jessica brings the fun with her.


Seriously Delish.  Mom tested, kitty approved. 

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The sure thing.

There's one sure thing about the first day of school.  That sure thing is cookies.

I don't always make chocolate chip cookies, but when I do...
(Sorry, I was slipping into the Most Interesting Man in the World mode.)


As I was saying...I don't make the same cookies every year.  Some years, I ask kiddo what he wants.  Some years, it's the Tollhouse recipe straight from the back of the bag. This year, I knew what I was baking:  Julie's (from The Little Kitchen) Copycat Doubletree Hotel Cookies.

I pinned Julie's recipe ages ago.  I thought about them a lot.  (More than is probably healthy.) Then, we stayed in a Doubletree Hotel earlier this month and it was just the kick in the pants I needed to MAKE THOSE COOKIES.


{If you've never stayed at a Doubletree Hotel before (A.) get yourself to one, pronto. (B.) They give you warm chocolate chip cookies at check in.  Yep.  I had mine eaten in, oh, about 5 minutes of entering our room.  Mr. E, on the other hand, waited almost 24 hours to eat his.  I had to tell him that if he did not consume it ASAP, all bets were off.  (I was not kidding.)}

Let me say...these Copycat Doubletree Hotel Cookies are straight up glorious.  Yes, glorious.  If I was served one of these at check-in at the Doubletree, I wouldn't doubt that they were the real deal.  The cookies are big, thick, chewy, studded with chocolate chips, and all out fantastic.

I'm just going to link you to Julie's recipe here.  The only change I made was to switch the chocolate chips to mini chocolate chips.  I thought that's what Doubletree used.  Then, as I'm writing this blog post, I clicked over to my Instagram feed, and lo and behold, they weren't mini chips after all.  I'm apparently having memory issues.

Big chips, mini chips, it doesn't matter.  MAKE THEM.  

Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Cinnamon Sugar Frosting

Time flies when you’re having fun. I can’t believe it’s already the almost end of summer and time for back-to-school. It’s also time to talk about butter again with my friends at Land O’Lakes…not like I need a reason to talk about baking with butter. :)

As much as the scent of a freshly opened box of Crayons, or the feel of a crisp, new stack of notebook paper, homemade cookies mean back-to-school to me.

There is something so comforting about a cookie…whether it’s tucked into a lunchbox or offered after school with a hug and a “how was your day?”


I can eat pumpkin-flavored anything all year long, but once the start of school arrives, I feel legitimate in doing so.  These cookies are soft and pillow-y, almost like mini cakes.  The softness comes from the pumpkin, the sour cream, and the brown sugar.


The frosting.  Oh, the frosting.  Made with Land O Lakes® Cinnamon Sugar Butter Spread, it’s a cinch to pull together and magic on these cookies.  If you love cinnamon toast like I do, try spreading a little extra frosting on your morning toast.  OH my goodness.
   
This scrumptious cinnamon sugar butter will be a staple in my fridge all fall. It’s sweet, spicy and everything nice!


Here’s how to make the cookies:
Preheat oven to 350.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Stir together the flour, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

Cream the butter and brown sugar until completely combined and smooth.  Beat in the pumpkin and sour cream, vanilla, and egg until well mixed.  Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

On low speed, add the flour in 3 additions, mixing just until combined.



Scoop the dough onto the prepared sheets using a 2-Tablespoon cookie scoop.  Use a spoon to press down lightly on the tops of the cookies to flatten them just a bit.  Bake for 15 minutes, or until the centers are baked through.  You can check this with a toothpick like a cake.


Remove to a wire cooling rack and let cool completely.


After the cookies are cooled, make the frosting. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cinnamon sugar butter spread and the powdered sugar until combined.  Add in the milk and pinch of salt and beat on medium speed until smooth and thickened.

Use an offset spatula or table knife to spread onto the cooled cookies.  Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with cinnamon-sugar.

Back-to-school just isn’t complete without cookies!  Don’t you agree? 

Soft Pumpkin Cookies with Cinnamon Sugar Frosting

Yield: 25 cookies

For the cookies:
3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 & ¼ cups light brown sugar
½ cup Land O Lakes® Unsalted Butter
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 egg

For the frosting:
1 (6.5 ounce) container Land O Lakes® Cinnamon Sugar Butter Spread
1 pound (4 cups) powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons milk
Pinch kosher salt
Cinnamon-sugar

Bake at 350 has partnered with Land O'Lakes for an exclusive endorsement of Land O Lakes® Butter for their Kitchen Conversations blogger program. This blog post is sponsored by Land O'Lakes.

Triple Threat Cookies

These cookies exist because the grocery store was out of an ingredient I needed for another recipe.
I think it was fate.


I happened to have all of the ingredients on hand for these.  Let's face it.  If you're ever having a chocolate chip emergency, my house is probably a good bet.  I think I have 8 bags in my pantry.  You never know when the mood might strike.


I had an extra bag of mini M&Ms from these...and lots of leftover coconut from these.  Sometimes things are meant to be.

The chocolate chips, mini M&Ms, and coconut (the triple threat) are all mixed together in a simple cookie dough and topped off with just a sprinkling of fleur de sel.  They're chewy, chunky, festive, colorful, and I'll be making them again.  And again.

Triple Threat Cookies

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 & 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 & 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup mini M&Ms
fleur de sel (or fine sea salt)

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Preheat oven to 350.

Cream the brown sugar and butter together until thoroughly combined and fluffy.  Beat in the egg and vanilla.

Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt, mixing on low just until combined.

Stir in the chocolate chips, coconut, and M&Ms (reserving a few M&Ms to press into the tops of the cookies if desired).


Use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the dough onto the prepared sheets.  Add a few reserved M&Ms onto the top of each ball of dough.  Sprinkle a bit of fleur de sel onto each cookie.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until done.  Remove from the cookie sheets to wire cooling racks to cool.


Don't wait until your grocery store is out of something to make them.  Do it now!